Miracle Legion

Emerging from Connecticut amid the post-R.E.M. wave of guitar rock, Miracle Legion drew early notice because vocalist Mark Mulcahy’s delivery closely mirrored Michael Stipe while the band’s arpeggiated guitar patterns echoed Peter Buck. Ray Neal on guitar, Jeff Wiederschall on drums, and Steven West on bass formed the initial lineup, which later pared down to Mulcahy and Neal alone, yet the group ultimately carved out a distinct identity. The Backyard EP appeared on the small Incas Records imprint in 1984 and quickly became a college-radio favorite, allowing the band to enjoy sustained popularity for a stretch. Surprise Surprise Surprise finally surfaced on Rough Trade in 1987, but the group could not sustain its early momentum and the overall mood had grown less buoyant. Glad followed in 1988, mixing studio originals with live recordings made alongside Pere Ubu. By 1989 Mulcahy and Neal operated strictly as a duo, issuing the acoustic set Me and Mr. Ray on Rough Trade; having moved away from the R.E.M. template, they settled into a country-rock approach. Drenched arrived in 1992, and Portrait of a Damaged Family appeared in 1997 on Mulcahy’s own Mezzotint Records. In 1999 Mulcahy issued the solo album Fathering along with music for Nickelodeon’s The Adventures of Pete & Pete; he kept releasing solo material through the 2000s with the EP I Just Shot Myself in the Foot Again (2000) and the albums Smilesunset (2001) and In Pursuit of Your Happiness (2005). Miracle Legion reunited for a tour in 2016, and selections from two performances were gathered for the live album Annulment in 2017.